Castle Hotel

The buffet was fresh, varied, delicious and plentiful, and the room looked stunning and was set out perfectly. My late mother’s wake was held here today, and the staff were outstanding. We couldn’t have asked for better for our dear Mam. Thank you so much.

The only remotely good thing was the price, £15 for two courses, but even that felt like too much for the meal. The dessert was bland, clearly bought in, and felt like an afterthought. The service wasn’t rude, but it had the feel of untrained youngsters and certainly wasn’t polished. The coke was a horrible-tasting cheap syrup from a pump. The Sunday lunch was one of the worst we’ve had in a long time. Everything tasted much the same, with a sloppy, watery texture and no flavour. The boiled potatoes were mushy and full of water, as if they’d been soaking for hours. There was only one roast potato, and it was grainy, tasteless and definitely not fresh. The parsnips were limp and soggy too. The tiny frozen Yorkshire puddings looked like they came from a budget supermarket, and the peas were an unappetising grey-green, clearly tinned. The whole meal felt cheap and thrown together without care. I’d love to know how the cooks got everything on the plate to taste the same. Very poor and disappointing, we definitely won’t return.

The hotel staff were pleasant enough, but the beds were uncomfortable, there was dust everywhere, and the pillows were coming apart with stuffing poking out. The duvets were quite thin. The shower started lukewarm and got colder instead of hotter. Breakfast was continental, with little choice. The toaster either didn’t work or took a long time, and apples were the only fruit, with no bananas. We left earlier than expected to find a cafe for breakfast. An hour from home, I noticed £50 had been charged from two of our bank accounts. When we asked about it, we were told this was because two of our three rooms were unusable for 74 hours due to something housekeeping had said. After getting a second opinion, they said there was nothing wrong with those rooms and that a refund would be issued. Be aware.

The kettle was absolutely disgustingly dirty, see the photos. It belongs in the bin. The carpets have seen better days, and neither the television nor the table lamp worked. I wouldn’t stay again. These are basic things that basic housekeeping shouldn’t miss.